FRENZY: Fans get chance to meet their favorite boy
group up close and personal

Ernest A. Jasmin; The News Tribune

Sunday the Backstreet Boys brought their brand of
bubblegum pop to the Tacoma Dome.

Adolescent girls were out in full force.

The girls and their parents started showing up at
lunch time, about eight hours before the show, perhaps
on the off chance they might spot that cute Nick
Carter guy trying to sneak into the building.

A select group of fans got to meet the group - Carter,
Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean and
Howie D. - at a 4:30 p.m. fan conference. Symptoms of
close proximity included stammering, crying,
hyperventilating and even a bit of fainting.

The Boys began singing around 8:40 p.m., after a
technical delay that sabotaged opening act Krystal.
(To her credit, she made a decent recovery by singing
the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There" a capella after her
music died.)

The Boys' coming was heralded by an over-the-top
barrage of explosions, towering flames and video
segments meant to simulate a meteor shower. (One
dancer appeared
dangerously close to being blown to bits after
realizing she or he was in the wrong place and needed
to run to the other side of the stage.)

The Backstreet Boys rose through the stage wearing
shiny, black trench coats that made them look like
extras from the Matrix. (McLean had no sleeves to show
off his tattoos -you know, because he's the rebel
guy.)

The group began its set with "Everyone," from its new
album, and followed it with "Larger Than Life,"
basically the same song from the group's previous disc
"Millennium." A few songs later, the Boys shifted into
ballad mode with "Yes I Will," "More Than That" and
one of their biggest hits "I Want It That Way."

Earlier Sunday, a group of about 70 fans and
journalists from around the world got to meet the band
at a private fan conference. Enthusiasts, most of whom
had won contests back home, came from as far away as
Japan, England, France, Israel and Singapore.

A succession of mostly teen girls posed questions
ranging from inquiries into the group's favorite
clothes to what they thought about Japanese girls. The
fans even offered stuffed animals, books and pictures
in tribute. (Carter, the youngest Backstreet Boy,
racked up the
most gifts, by the way.)

Ayse Veli, a 22-year-old fan from London, was among
the more serene as she tossed a silly question
Carter's way.

"Since I flew 4,000 miles to be here for one day, will
you marry me?" she asked.

Carter thought for a moment. "I'll get back to you on
that."

Well, it was worth a try and Veli at least got a hug
and a peck on the cheek for asking. She won a pair of
airline tickets for her and her brother, Hassan, by
answering a few questions for a London radio station.

"She tore up the house screaming," a smiling Hassan
recalled.

Others seemed more affected by the experience. A
Japanese fan's knees nearly buckled after the group
asked her to step closer for a birthday serenade. By
the time McClean rounded the table to hug her, the
woman was shivering and shedding tears. It was an
emotional display of devotion topped only by Chen
Hayik, a 16-year-old girl who flew 20 hours from Tel
Aviv, Israel. The teen began to hyperventilate and
appeared to faint as she tried to ask her question.

After the conference Hayik gained enough composure to
show a reporter a picture of her bedroom, which is
wall-papered with Backstreet Boys posters.

"Every time I hear the Backstreet Boys, my mind gets
nuts; I get crazy," Hayik said. "It's like a
Backstreet Boys disease."

"When they called me to say that I won, I cried from
happiness," said Hayik's traveling companion, Iris
Gilboa, of Haifa, Israel. "And my mother and sister
asked, 'Oh my god, What's wrong with you? What
happened?' ... We got so excited, I just couldn't even
describe it."

Limor Mazor, a promoter who chaperoned the two Israeli
fans, said it's difficult for Israel to attract groups
such as the Backstreet Boys because people wrongly
assume that bombings frequently happen there.

"They're quite huge over there. Also 'N Sync," Mazor
said. "All day they (fans) call my office and ask when
are they going to come. ... Give them pop music and
they will take it. They are hungry for that, you
know."